Tepp’s – at the top!

Tepp’s. Ah, Tepp’s. If you have a limited amount of time in Sapporo and are not looking for Japanese cuisine, this is the place to go. After 4 years in Japan, I cannot eat Japanese cuisine anywhere else, as nowhere else is nearly as good. But Tepp’s has set the tone for my expectations of western cuisine.

For me, Tepp’s is first and foremost associated with bread. They have the best bread I’ve tasted since I left Germany. The last time I was there, a week before I left Japan, the bread platter comprised a buttery brioche; a scrumptious whole-wheat bread with raisins, figs and walnuts; and a delicious organic whole wheat bread with lees or wine sediment (not very clear which) as the leaven, in place of ordinary baker’s yeast. Heavenly.

Tepp’s also has a wide variety of wines – white, red and rosé, from wineries the world over. I’m not a wine person, but after Tepp’s – admittedly in the company of friends who know wine – I do enjoy wine like never before.

And finally. The food. Oh, the food. I you asked me to describe it in one word, that word would be ‘foodgasm’. The menu at Tepp’s is just two pages, and is deceptively limited. The food itself is absolutely divine. The tastes are subtle; the way it melts in the mouth, sublime. I’ve had the opportunity to sample a variety of the menu in my numerous visits, and not once has it failed to delight. I’ve even been moved to tears, something that – for all my love of food – rarely happens, if ever. The menu also includes few exotic dishes such as Hokkaido deer pâté. The food is by far the highlight of the establishment.

Tepp’s is run by Teppei and Mariko Kawase. I first met them in November of 2016, at the Hokkaido cider collection – a small cider festival in Sapporo. They gave me their card, and I thought I’d visit sometime. I may never have actually gone around, to be honest, except for a stroke of fortune (sort of). A friend was leaving Japan at the beginning of December 2016, and since he was a gourmand like myself, I suggested we go around. And I’ve been a fan ever since.